London is the healthiest region in the UK with the highest number of cyclists and the best BMIs

I'm City A.M.'s deputy night editor. Previously I reported on industrials, covering mining energy, utilities and military, and prior to that I reported on vice "sin"-dustries (think alcohol, tobacco and gambling) and the leisure sector.

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Londoners are on average the healthiest residents in the UK (Source: Getty)

Francesca Washtell

If you're someone who's been lured into the world of London Park Runs or has become addicted to the capital's latest healthy food pop-ups - you're not alone.

London is the healthiest region in the UK, according to data from healthcare provider Simplyhealth and YouGov.

Nearly half of adults living in London have a "healthy" body mass index (BMI), significantly higher than anywhere else in the UK, where the average is 38 per cent.

The capital's trimmer-than-average inhabitants also have the lowest percentage of people categorised as obese.

Londoners were most likely to exercise (38 per cent) in general, kicking the sedentary lifestyle habit, and were also much more likely to cycle, eat organic food and use fitness apps than the rest of the UK.

In BMI terms, Wales ranked the lowest across the UK, with only 29 per cent of the adult population ranking as "healthy", over a third (38 per cent) rated as "overweight" and the second-highest proportion of people categorised as "obese".

"It’s great to see people in London taking a level of personal responsibility and care for their own health and well-being. However, there is still a long way to go and it is a worrying sign that across the UK, so few people are meeting the NHS guidelines for exercise," Romana Abdin, chief executive of SimplyHealth said.

"With the NHS under increasing pressure it is more important, now than ever, that people start taking personal responsibility for their own health, where they can."

However, there was one area where capital residents were less likely to be top of the health scoreboard - Londoners are apparently the most likely to smoke, at a rate of 25 per cent.